Former Starfield Artist Reveals Reason Graphic Violence Was Cut

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Summary

  • Starfield‘s lack of graphic violence was an intentional choice largely due to technical issues.
  • It also wouldn’t fit Starfield’s tone, said Dennis Mejillones, a character artist who worked at Bethesda on Starfield and Fallout 4.

Initially, the design for Starfield had plans for a lot more brutality, as a former artist from Bethesda has disclosed. While Bethesda games like Fallout aren’t shy about displaying gore, the gruesome aspects didn’t find their way into its recent space-themed project. It appears that the decision to minimize graphic violence in Starfield was deliberate, although it wasn’t necessarily the original plan.

In their latest RPG, Bethesda didn’t avoid violence altogether; instead, they embraced it significantly. The game features both gun battles and hand-to-hand fights prominently, leading several players to claim that the combat in Starfield surpasses that of Fallout 4, thanks to careful planning in terms of shooting and slashing mechanics. However, it seems that the developers softened some of the graphic violence, perhaps deciding to tone it down a bit.

In a recent interview with the Kiwi Talkz podcast on YouTube, character artist Dennis Mejillones, who worked on Starfield and Fallout 4 at Bethesda, discussed the game’s violence. Originally, the title was planned to include decapitations and other gruesome kill animations, but these were scrapped due to technical difficulties. The various suits and helmets in the game make it challenging to animate such violent scenes without them appearing unrealistic or buggy. Given that Starfield encountered persistent technical problems even after several major updates, it seems the team made a wise decision by avoiding additional graphical complexities.

Starfield Cut Decapitations for Technical and Tonal Reasons

In the process of designing Starfield, Bethesda decided to reduce graphic violence not just because of the challenges in animating decapitations, but also because Fallout’s gore is humorously integrated, which doesn’t align perfectly with Starfield’s more serious and realistic sci-fi tone. Although Starfield does incorporate elements reminiscent of Bethesda’s lighter and bloodier games (like the recent inclusion of Doom-inspired content), it primarily aims to present a more subdued and authentic portrayal of space exploration. Excessive violent acts, though they might excite players, could have seemed incongruous, disrupting the game’s immersive experience.

Players have consistently expressed a desire for increased realism in the game. They’ve noted that the nightclubs in Starfield seem underdeveloped and unauthentic, particularly when contrasted with other hard-edged sci-fi games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Mass Effect. The inclusion of humorous violence might have exacerbated these ongoing concerns, making the game feel even less realistic. Given all factors, it appears that Bethesda made a prudent decision in reducing the game’s gore, even if it goes against the trend observed in their earlier shooter games.

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2025-01-14 18:43